Bryan Gibb, Ph.D.

Microbiologist Bryan Gibb is an associate professor of biological and chemical sciences at New York Institute of Technology. Gibb's research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms of DNA binding proteins, specifically those involved in CRISPR pathways that are widely being employed in genome engineering technologies. The long-term aim of this work is to find new tools or improve existing methodologies that can then be harnessed for biotech applications such as gene therapy.

Another major line of Gibb's research seeks to understand and develop bacteriophages as therapeutics. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that more than 2.8 million antimicrobial-resistant infections occur each year in the United States, resulting in more than 35,000 deaths. Given the growing inability to treat bacterial infections, novel approaches must be pursued. Bacteriophages are viruses that attack bacteria naturally, so they are an attractive tool that may be discovered from natural sources and improved by directed evolution or directed engineering approaches to be an effective therapy for bacterial infections.

Gibb completed his Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania in the laboratory of Gregory D. Van Duyne and studied the molecular mechanisms of DNA recombination enzymes using biophysical, structural, and biochemical methods. His dissertation project focused on the site-specific DNA recombinase Cre, which is widely used as a tool in genome engineering. 

Following graduate school, Gibb joined the laboratory of Eric Greene at Columbia University as a postdoctoral researcher. In Greene's lab, Gibb developed a novel single-molecule method of studying proteins that bind and function on single-stranded DNA (ssDNA). Using this technique, he was able to reveal novel mechanisms in the ssDNA binding protein RPA and Rad52. These two proteins play essential functional roles in DNA damage repair pathways. Disruption of these proteins or the associated pathways has been linked to cancer. Additional studies using this technique revealed detailed mechanistic details in the DNA recombinase Rad51.


Recent Projects/Research:
Development of tools for genome engineering applications (CRISPR, Cas9)
Bacteriophage therapy
DNA damage repair